In lieu of closing arguments, the company and the U.S. government agreed to file post-trial briefs with Chief Judge David C. Godbey of the Northern District of Texas, who presided over the weeklong tax dispute trial stemming from ExxonMobil’s natural-gas mining venture with Qatar.
Litigation Roundup: Gibson Dunn Reps AT&T at SCOTUS in ERISA Appeal
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a group of state attorneys general rally behind Texas’ first assistant AG in a disciplinary suit brought by the state bar, AT&T goes with Gibson Dunn in its U.S. Supreme Court appeal over an employee class action alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and the city of Dallas faces trial in a civil property rights dispute.
Countdown to Business Courts: Six Must-Know Rules
The Texas Supreme Court has proposed the first set of procedural rules that will apply in the business court, bringing clearer focus to the business court vision. Commercial trial lawyers should now be better positioned to advise their clients on the particulars of this new forum.
Dallas Jury Awards $37.5M to Family of Trucker Killed by Oncor Driver
An Oncor Electric Delivery Co. driver was negligent in the 2021 crash, jurors decided. Their damages award was about half of what the plaintiffs requested in trial, but was still more than Oncor offered ahead of trial, Zehl & Associates lawyer Matt Greenberg told The Texas Lawbook.
Voting Underway on State Bar’s Proposed Rule Changes
Most of the proposed rules on the State Bar of Texas rules vote ballot are similar to American Bar Association rules and modernize Texas laws, an expert said. The voting period closes April 30.
Julia Simon Leaves Mary Kay C-Suite for Lynn Pinker
For 24 years, Julia Simon successfully navigated danger zones, intellectual property matters and litigation threats as the chief legal officer at Addison-based skincare and cosmetics company Mary Kay. On Wednesday, Simon started her new position as a partner at the Dallas litigation boutique Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann after retiring from Mary Kay.
“Twenty-three years is a long time. But when you love what you do and where you work, it seems like no time at all,” Simon told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview. “That is especially true at a company like Mary Kay where I was able to use my legal knowledge and strategic thinking to protect entrepreneurial opportunities for women around the globe. I am proud of the compliance programs we built. I am proud of the important legal precedent we established through a complex litigation docket. I am most proud of the team that I led. They are absolutely incredible.”
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit Undoes Transfer of Chamber, CFPB Suit; Souki Owes $100M
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, split panels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hit pause on the transfer of a lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s plan to cap credit card late fees and nix a nearly $240,000 sanction against the former CEO of Highland Capital Management. In lower courts, Texas reaches a $6.6 million settlement over a 2019 petrochemical fire and Charif Souki is found by a bankruptcy judge to owe at least $100 million to his creditors.
Navigating the Growing World of Litigation Funding and Contingent Risk Insurance
Over the past few years, contingent risk insurance has risen in prominence in the litigation finance world as an alternative or companion to traditional litigation finance. This article provides a summary of the ways that clients and their counsel can use these tools to enhance revenue growth while controlling costs and mitigating the risks inherent in litigation.